From the papers

July 19, 1999
Juventus Official Site

Juventus kicked off their Intertoto campaign with a draw. Their match against Ceahlaul in Romania ended in a 1-1 draw with Alessio Tacchinardi scoring a great goal. The squad may not be up to full strength yet but good performances by new signings Jonathan Bachini and Darko Kovacevic brought a smile to coach Carlo Ancelotti's face.

Today at Saint-Vincent Alessandro Del Piero makes his comeback in a friendly against a Valle d'Aosta XI after eight months and 11 days of inactivity.

Over to Juventus' Intertoto Cup debut against the Romanians of Ceahlaul. "Tacchinardi saves Juve" screams the headline. The paper reports on some worried faces in Romania when Ceahlaul went ahead from a corner but goes on to say that the Bianconeri came back well in spite of being a long way behind their opponents in terms of their physical condition. Amoruso and Kovacevic are applauded for their performances.

Corriere dello Sport's opening page is dominated by Juventus. "Tacchinardi, what a goal. And today there's Del Piero. The Bianconeri suffer in the early stages then wake up in the second-half. Saturday's return leg is in Cesena. Today's friendly at Saint-Vincent sees Alex back on the pitch after eight months out due to injury."

Other teams have started playing their first pre-season friendlies. "Fiorentina, Mijatovic straight in. Napoli, bravo Matuzalem." Fiorentina won their training game 12-0 to leave coach Trapattoni positive about playing Batistuta, Chiesa, Mijatovic and Rui Costa together. "The system works because both Chiesa and Mijatovic don't just go forward but also come back and cover." Inside the paper, Milan's coach Zaccheroni gives his verdict on the new season and on the favourites: "We are in a group of seven sides who could win the Scudetto, but I fear Malesani most because he has signed Amoroso, and as for Trapattoni - what a team". On the Champions League he says: "Now I want success in Europe too. The Champions League will give us the right motivation especially to players who have already won so many titles with Milan."

Finally to Tuttosport. "Toro: what an avalanche of goals" is the opening headline as Cogne were buried beneath 15 Torino goals in the first half and 13 in the second. The fans were enthusiastic about Ivic, Coco and Lantz. On Juventus: "Inzaghi, think about it. Intertoto: a great goal by Tacchinardi saves Juventus from a sensational defeat. At Saint-Vincent, the real team with Alex." The transfer merry-go-round never stops: "Sablic to Fiorentina. Hubner, no to Lecce. Lazio, who will have Chinaglia back on its management team, says no to Inter for Pancaro. Today Anelka is meeting his lawyer: an appeal to the European Court is imminent."

Inter start training today: "Lippi's time has come." The squad were due at Pinetina at 9am from where they travel to Sarre (Aosta). The first training session is scheduled for the afternoon.
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